Jack's back: Cat rescued from culvert
Snow plow likely trapped 8-year-old tabby for 7 weeks
Copyright © 2003 Blethen Maine Newspapers Inc.
CHELSEA — Jack the cat is back.
David Logan of Chelsea holds Jack, who was recently rescued after being trapped in a culvert for seven weeks. click to enlarge
Trapped in a 45-foot culvert for seven long weeks in frigid temperatures, the 8-year-old gray and white striped tabby emerged Sunday to be reunited with his family.
The feline belongs to David and Annette Logan of Chelsea and their 3-year-old son Alex. Jack had been missing since Feb. 2.
"I don't know how he survived," Annette Logan said Tuesday. "The only thing we could think of is that he had water or sucked on the snow because he had no food. We were stunned when we found him."
Jack wobbled across the linoleum floor in the Logans' kitchen Tuesday as he made his way to the living room. The amount of weight he lost can be seen in his sunken chest cavity and protruding shoulder blades. The once muscular 12-pound cat lost more than half his body weight while stuck in the hole. He also scarred the back of his legs when he hunkered down on the cold metal of the culvert to try and stay warm.
Logan, 36, who works for an insurance company in Portland, said the family had given up hope of finding Jack after her husband saw a black fisher — a carnivorous mammal related to the weasel family — scurry across the snow-covered lawn two weeks ago.
"He thought, 'Well that's where (Jack) went,' " she said. "Jack always went in and out of the house a lot. Then one day he was gone."
David Logan, a stay-at-home dad, said he was out in the yard with his wife and son Sunday when they heard a faint meow. They followed the sound to a culvert that runs under their driveway. Snow pushed over by a plow blocked both ends of the drainage pipe and the Logans believe Jack was inside the pipe when the plow came by.
When Logan, 37, took his shovel and dug into the snow bank about a foot, Jack stuck his head out and squinted at the daylight. He jumped out, but couldn't walk, Logan said, so they carried him into the house, called their veterinarian and fed him a meal.
Logan said he doesn't understand why Tyra, their 11-year-old golden retriever, didn't pick up Jack's scent since they were buddies.
"We were surprised his body functions didn't start shutting down, it's been so cold," David Logan said while standing next to the culvert at the edge of his driveway. "He's very happy to be here. He always wants to be near you. He still wants to go outside, but he comes right back in again."
In the past four days, Jack has gained back some of his weight but he's still weak. The Logans are wondering if Jack's strength will return, and whether he will once again be the great mouser that always brought his catch home to share with his family.
"I think he's going to be fine," David Logan said. "He's back to his old habits like nothing happened. They say a cat has nine lives, and he's already used four of them. He's fallen through thin ice on the pond twice and was hit by a car. We know that because he came back with one of his legs dragging."
Mechele Cooper — 623-3811, Ext. 408
mcooper@centralmaine.com